"We are now seeing broad agreement thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go -- it's how far we have already come," he said.
Obama promised he would not sign into law any healthcare legislation that would drive up the budget deficit, or fail to rein in rising healthcare costs.
Legislation pushed by House Democrats would increase budget deficits by more than $240 billion over 10 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last week.
Although fellow Democrats are raising many questions about the plan, Obama went on the attack against Republicans, accusing them of wanting to kill his healthcare plans.
"The politics may dictate that they don't vote for healthcare reform because they think it makes Obama more vulnerable," he said. "But if they've got a good idea we'll still take it."
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Richard Cowan; Editing by Simon Denyer and Chris Wilson) consumers. "Part of the reason we want to have a public option is just to help keep the insurance companies honest," he said.
Obama, who had been careful not to comment on various proposals on Capitol Hill on how to pay for the overhaul, did offer support for a Democratic proposal to tax the rich.
He said a surcharge on families making more than $1 million a year "meets my principle" of not putting the burden of paying for healthcare reform on middle-class families.
He insisted there was momentum behind the healthcare effort, despite strains on Capitol Hill, and that lawmakers are closer to agreement on cost savings to the plan.
"We are now seeing broad agreement thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go -- it's how far we have already come," he said.
Obama promised he would not sign into law any healthcare legislation that would drive up the budget deficit, or fail to rein in rising healthcare costs.
Legislation pushed by House Democrats would increase budget deficits by more than $240 billion over 10 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last week.
Although fellow Democrats are raising many questions about the plan, Obama went on the attack against Republicans, accusing them of wanting to kill his healthcare plans.
"The politics may dictate that they don't vote for healthcare reform because they think it makes Obama more vulnerable," he said. "But if they've got a good idea we'll still take it."
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Richard Cowan; Editing by Simon Denyer and Chris Wilson)
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